Planning a Trip

When to Go

"Iceland is green and Greenland is icy," the children's saying goes, and that's basically correct. Iceland's climate is much milder than its name suggests. Temperatures rarely go below the mid-20s even in the depths of winter, and usually stay above or around freezing. During the summer, expect temperatures from the high 50s to the low 70s.

But that doesn't mean winter in Iceland is pleasant. During late December, there's about four and a half hours of daylight, and it's usually cloudy. In January, there are on average three sunny days in Reykjavík, and the rain regularly congeals into deadly slicks of black ice on the streets. Temperatures hover around the freezing point and the wind cuts to the bone.

Akureyri and the North are sunnier than Reykjavík year round, warmer in the summer and colder in the winter.

High season in Iceland lasts from June through August. This is high season for a reason: many roads in the interior and many hotels across the country only open in mid-June. Temperatures are mild, in the sixties and low 70s, and nights vary from short to totally nonexistent: during the most of June, the sun dips below the horizon only briefly.

Shoulder season months are April, May, September and October. Temperatures are generally in the 40s and 50s, and days last 12-14 hours -- what someone from more southerly latitudes would consider normal.

The low season lasts from November through March. Temperatures hover around freezing, and there's quite a lot of driving rain. But low-season tourism has become more and more popular recently; outdoor activities include sightseeing by plane, skiing, snow golf (really!) and snowmobiling on the glaciers. Also, swimming in Iceland's outdoor heated pools is at its best and most surreal when it's cold out. One exception to the low season is New Year's, which is packed and busy in Reykjavík.

For a mostly secular country, Iceland takes its Christian holidays seriously. On national holidays, most shops close and buses run on Sunday schedules. Tours, on the other hand, still usually run as scheduled. Iceland's holidays for 2005 include:

• New Year's Day, Jan. 1
• Easter weekend, Mar. 24-28
• The first day of spring, April 21
• Labor Day, May 1
• Ascension Day, May 5
• Whitsunday and Monday, May 15-16
• National Day, Jun 17
• Bank Holiday, Aug. 1
• Christmas Eve, starting at noon Dec. 24
• Christmas, Dec. 25
• Boxing Day, Dec. 26
• New Year's Eve, starting at noon Dec. 31